


Reverie

by Candybara



Series: Word Count Challenges [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, One Shot, Other, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 14:39:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19770307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candybara/pseuds/Candybara
Summary: The sun had just begun to dip beyond the horizon, setting the Necluda Sea alight with countless hues of amber and gold, and Link is perched comfortably in the lower branches of the very tree that you’d been intending to make camp under.





	Reverie

**Author's Note:**

> Me with literally any other character: Shameless forking  
> Me with Link: Sharing a meal and watching the sunset
> 
> I guess fictional crushes just be like that sometimes ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

One of the first things you see when you crest the plateau that overlooks Lurelin Village is not at all what you’d be justified in expecting, but rather something that you can only consider a pleasant surprise. The sun had just begun to dip beyond the horizon, setting the Necluda Sea alight with countless hues of amber and gold, and Link is perched comfortably in the lower branches of the very tree that you’d been intending to make camp under. It’s dark enough between the shadows cast by the leafy boughs that you might not have noticed him if you’d arrived any later, which makes you especially lucky, given that you’re far too tired to know how you might react if you’d been startled _after_ having already settled in for the night.

You can’t help but smile to yourself as you approach, though, because it’s always nice to run into Link during your excursions, even for as little as he’s told you about himself. He doesn’t say much in general, really, mainly communicating nonverbally, but you know that he’s an adventurer of sorts, just like you, and that was the only piece of information that you’d needed to feel yourself first start to form a kinship with him.

He seems to appreciate your company, too, at least somewhat, for he initially tenses at the sound of your footsteps, his sharp eyes turning a wary, stormy shade of azure, but his expression immediately softens into relief when he sees that it’s only you, rather than some monster or unfriendly traveler that he’d otherwise need to fight off. He greets you with a wave and a partial smile, his mouth stuffed full with an overeager bite of a meaty rice ball, and you return his greeting with a wave and a broad smile of your own.

The easternmost roots of the tree protrude slightly from the lush carpet of grass that surrounds its sturdy trunk, forming a shape in the ground that’s reminiscent of a cradle. You don’t remember consciously choosing to sprawl yourself against it, but you can feel the exhaustion of a long and tedious day flare through your limbs nearly the instant that you get there, so you suppose that you never truly had a choice in the matter.

You let out a heavy sigh as the weight of your gear pack falls off the curve of your shoulder, your body sliding wearily down onto the cool stretch of earth that seems to get more and more comfortable whenever you return to it. You’re starving, but you take a good moment to simply breathe, tilting your head back against the rough bark of the tree as you relish the feeling of _finally_ getting to relax.

You hardly notice that Link had dropped down from his branch until you feel him draw near, sitting crosslegged on the grass next to you. He taps you lightly on the shoulder to get your attention before offering you one of his leftover rice balls, and you glance cautiously over at his supply bag, which doesn’t appear to contain very much.

“Are you sure?” you ask, wondering if he can really afford to give you any of his food. You’d rather be the one sharing your meal with him, as he probably needs the sustenance more than you do, but Link seems insistent, holding his palm out even closer to you.

He’s got two seafood rice balls balanced on an open leaf wrap, and you carefully pick the one that looks to be topped with staminoka bass, leaving the hearty salmon-topped one for Link. It’s surprisingly well shaped, you note, though you’d assume that he’s had a lot of practice making them, given that they’re easy enough to cook in a hurry, yet compact enough to carry in bulk. You can’t imagine that Link generally has the time or the space to bother with more extravagant cuisine.

His rice balls are delicious, though, or at least this one in particular is, and you breathe out a long hum of contentment as you pull a large chunk off the top corner and toss it into your mouth. It just about melts on your tongue, and you in turn let yourself melt back against the trunk of the tree, almost instantaneously feeling a soft spark of warmth replenish much of your energy. You chew slowly, savoring the sweet and salty mix of flavors, and slant your head fondly towards Link.

“Thank you,” you say, and he smiles kindly at you as you take another healthy bite of rice and fish.

You eat in moderate silence from that point onward, holding your gaze steady as you stare off into the distance. The sun is now only barely peeking out over a shimmery blanket of ocean, and the faintest of stars are just beginning to speckle the deeper portions of the sky, tinging the corners of your vision with a dim shade of indigo. Dusk falls as gradually as the rusty leaves of autumn, and you’ve never been happier, sitting under your favorite tree, watching the day come to a quiet, beautiful end.

The fact that Link is there by your side only serves to make the moment that much more memorable.

The air is crisp, yet mild, and you feel increasingly refreshed with every inhale, having finished your rice ball relatively quickly. You’re sated all the way down to your core, though, regarding both your appetite and your desire for companionship, but the latter doesn’t fully start to sink in until you’re halfway between folding your arms snugly against your chest and actually falling asleep. Link gets up briefly to light a campfire, and when he returns, you determine that he’s a far greater source of warmth than the flickering flames.

You find yourself resting your head on his shoulder somewhere along the line, and the way he leans against you in turn is all that it takes to have you feeling completely and utterly at peace.


End file.
